Is MoviePass good for families? We tried it! | Damn you, Facebook Ads series

Editor’s note: Please scroll to the very bottom for some important updates on our Movie Pass experience.

When I first heard about MoviePass on Facebook, I thought it sounded a little too good to be true. All the movies you could possibly see, for just $9 each month? That’s crazy, considering how much it currently costs us to see movies in the theater with four kids (or a babysitter if we’re going out as a couple).

So as part of our Damn You, Facebook Ads series, in which we try out the products flooding our feeds, I decided that MoviePass was worth a try. Especially since my husband and I do really enjoy going to the movies.

(And hey, this could be a great Valentine’s gift, right?)

If you’ve seen the ads yourself and have wondered whether MoviePass is good for families, I’m sharing all the details — the good and the bad — so you can decide if it’s right for your family too. Or maybe just a smart Valentine’s gift for your significant other.

How MoviePass works

MoviePass is a monthly subscription that costs $9.95 per month. With this membership, one person may see one movie per day in participating theaters for free. Yes, really. For free. The app functions similarly to Fandango, except instead of buying the ticket you’re “checking in” to the theater. Once you’re approved to buy your ticket (it takes seconds), you go purchase it (at the theater) using your MoviePass debit card. Voila!

Is MoviePass easy to use?

Yes, and no.

For a person wanting to go see a movie alone, this is a dream. If you’re going with someone else, it can be a bit trickier. One of the fine-print requirements is that you must check in to buy tickets with your phone within 100 yards of the theater. And you must buy the tickets same-day.

(MoviePass advertises an e-ticket option, but so far I’ve only been able to buy tickets in person.)

Here’s how that played out: When we wanted to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi and were sure every showing would be sold out, we went as soon as the theater opened to get our tickets. Since my theater sells only assigned seats for movies, groups who want to sit together must go to the theater together to check in. Or, one person must take everyone’s phones and MoviePass debit cards to get their tickets.

It’s a bit of a hassle, but on the other hand, I’ve never been blocked out of a movie I wanted to see. And I’ve never been told I couldn’t get tickets with MoviePass.

And even though it’s an extra drive to the theater if we want to secure our tickets early, it’s still free movies!

What’s the catch?

First of all, your local theater must participate in the program. In Nashville, every theater near me — including the two indie theaters that usually show limited-release art films — are participating. But, recently I got an email from the service that a handful of theaters (in another state) had left the program. You can check to see if yours are participating at their website.

It’s also important to note that the way MoviePass stays in the red is that they sell your movie-going habits to marketing groups. I’ve received emails telling me my movie is about to start, and when I get home I might want to watch some similar show on HBO or DirecTV.

If privacy is a concern, this might not be for you. However lots of companies do this, so if you’re surprised by this, keep in mind this is a pretty common practice. In fact, you’re already a part of it if you use Facebook, Gmail, or subscribe to pretty much any catalog at all.

Is MoviePass easy for families?

The biggest downside to MoviePass has been trying to make it work for my whole family.

Each account must be connected to a phone, and one phone can only have one account on it. So, since my kids don’t have phones, they can’t have MoviePass accounts. It’s nice that my husband and I get our own tickets free, even if we have to pay for our kids’ tickets.

But I’m definitely looking forward to the couple and family memberships they’ve announced are coming soon.

The Verdict: Has MoviePass been worth it for us?

At $9.95 per month — which is less than the price of one adult matinee ticket at my theater — I figured it was worth it for me to try out MoviePass, even as someone who rarely goes out to the movies. And, it turns out, I’ve already maximized my membership; over the holiday season — when, admittedly, the biggest movies of the year come out — I’ve been able to see pretty much every movie I’d like to see. I’ve even left the kids with their dad in the evening to see one alone (Note: go see Ladybird if you haven’t already!), something I never would have done before.

Now that movie tickets are a “free” date night option, we are getting us out of the house more, and it’s been nice to expand my pop-culture cred beyond the Minions.

Plus it looks MoviePass has got a limited time offer right now — just $7.95 a month, making this a good time to try it.

So final verdict? For us, the $20 per month we’re spending on MoviePass as a couple has been well worth the investment. And when they add their family membership, I’ll easily be one of the first to join.

Updated to add: While my husband and I avidly went to the movies for the first few months of our membership, slowly Movie Pass started to change the terms of our subscription. Then change them again. And again. It got to the point where I could only choose from a select group of movies (not everything in the theatre), and then only premium movies at certain times, and then a reduced number of movies. Sadly, it became so complicated — with the constantly changing terms — and so inconvenient that we decided to drop our membership.

This post is part of our Damn You, Facebook Ads series, and is not been sponsored, which would totally defeat the point of trying things out for you! We’re just suckers for these ads, and we imagine you want to know more about the products and services they’re selling, too.

More reviews from our Damn You, Facebook Ads series that you might like:

Related:

Senior Associate Editor Kate Etue divides her time between the book industry, checking out the newest tech trends for kids, whipping up our weekly meal plans, and indulging in craft foods in a cool suburb of Nashville. BioTwitterInstagram

8 Comments

Kaitlin
on March 11, 2018 at 2:05 pm

I’m a big MP fan!

And I’m a fan of this article and you saying why your kids can’t use it. But may I suggest you also state that your kids can’t use it because they aren’t 18+ years old? Only 18+ year olds can use it; and only the cardholder can use the cards. That’s also in the TOS. So if you’re going to the theater and buying tickets for you and your hubby with your respective cards that’s cool; but using your husbands card to buy a ticket for your kid isn’t.

Hey, you should also try and cover SINEMIA. It’s like MoviePass but unlike MP you can use it for premium format movies, high-end movie theatres and online tickets You can only use it 2 or 3x a month but if you only use it for IMAX or showings like that it’s paid off in one shot. It was $8.99 (2 tix) per month when I signed up last month.

We just signed up for movie pass with my wife. I think we will go 3-4 times per month now, versus 1-2 or less in the pass. It is definitely a great incentive. We have 4 children and will have to pay for kids separately, so if a family membership comes out, I will gladly pay double for convenience. And our kids do consume tons of theatre food and snacks, so theatres will get their worth as well:) I think one of great benefits is that we are now encouraged to spend more time TOGETHER as a family. Way to go Movie Pass – it is good social deed for society. When do we get the same app for Broadway or museums??????

Kate help! MP just revoked my son’s pass. This truly is a slap in the face for families! I needed something on his pass fixed and instead of correcting it they wanted to talk with him. I said you can talk to me since he’s 11. And so instead of helping they terminated his pass. As a single widow/mom MP had been a wonderful, wonderful invention for us. I feel slighted and angry and none of the single men writing about MP have even replied to my request for help (I’ve tried!) My advice is never tell MP you’ve got a pass for your kid. – Mom who needs your help!

Liz, I’m so sorry to hear this! We’ve never had an issue with it ourselves, and my kids use it at least once a month. We tried MoviePass at our own expense and without any help from their PR or customer service team, so I’m afraid we don’t have a way to help you get his pass back. If you want an alternate option, we’ve noticed that AMC theaters is now offering their own version of a MoviePass-style subscription. If you have one nearby, you might want to check it out instead.

In the privacy policy it clearly states under ^
*children that they can utilize the service under the supervision of a parent or guardian. I directly messaged the help center at moviepass to ask about my 15 year old son before we made an account for him and they confirmed I could allow him to have an account with an email that I as his parent had access to.

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Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz

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